Government panel recommends emergency approval of Serum Institute’s Covovax for 7-11 year age group

"The Subject Expert Committee of Drugs Controller General Of India (DCGI) has recommended Serum Institute of India`s (SII) vaccine Covovax for children in the age group of 7-11 years," sources said.

Representational image (Credits:PTI)

New Delhi: The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on Covid-19, an expert panel of India’s central drug authority, on Friday (June 24, 2022) recommended Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for Serum Institute of India`s Covovax vaccine for children aged 7-11. "The Subject Expert Committee of Drugs Controller General Of India (DCGI) has recommended Serum Institute of India`s (SII) vaccine Covovax for children in the age group of 7-11 years," a source told news agency IANS.

The expert panel recommendation has been sent to the DCGI for final approval. The two applications were submitted by Prakash Kumar Singh, Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at Serum Institute of India (SII) on March 16 and June 1.

However, DGCI will review the recommendation before noding for final approval. The expert panel in its last meeting in April had sought more information from Serum Institute over the application, as per the source.

India`s drug regulator had approved Covovax for restricted use in emergency situations in adults on December 28, 2021 and in the 12-17 age group with certain conditions on March 9.